Denied a refund on medication bought online

Ginger_Winner

I'm going to Central America for 6 months and have purchased Doxycycline which is an anti-malaria antibiotic. I purchased this on-line from Chemist Direct.

The address that I supplied for delivery is one in London that I have moved out of whilst I'm away. I have set up a mail re-direct for post to go from this address to my parents house in Northants where I'm living now.

Chemist direct despatched my antibiotics via parcel force which does not get re-directed so my order is currently sitting in the post office in London.

Chemist direct have offered to re-send the order once it is returned to them, but that will be too late as I will have left by then. I therefore asked for a refund which they have declined on the basis that they cannot refund medication. I have quoted distance selling regulations but they are not moving.

This is an honest mistake on my part, but I feel that I should be able to at least get my money back as this is a commonly sold product and could easily be resold.

Can anyone advise where I stand? Are medication orders exempt from distance selling regulations? Would it be worth approaching American Express who's card I used to make the purchase?

Advice would be gratefully received!

Many thanks.

jwruk

Section 3.2 of their terms and conditions. You accepted them.

Ginger_Winner

Many thanks for the reply...

I had a conversation via 'on-line chat' which I have copied and pasted into a word document. As such I haven't cancelled my order, so will email them with a copy of of chat transcript and see where I get to from there. fyi - this was their reply regarding distance selling....

me: I would like to claim a refund under the The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000
Stacey C: Prescription medication cannot be refunded.
As advised the order will need to be collected and if it does come back to us then we can only resend not issue a refund.

wealdroam

I agree that DSRs do apply, but I am sure there is some legislation specifically stating that prescription medicines cannot be returned.

Can't find it at the moment though.

halibut2209

jwruk wrote: »

Section 3.2 of their terms and conditions. You accepted them.

So what? Law trumps T&Cs

jacques_chirac

wealdroam wrote: »

I agree that DSRs do apply, but I am sure there is some legislation specifically stating that prescription medicines cannot be returned.

Can't find it at the moment though.

You are right wealdroam. Prescription medicines cannot be returned for refund wherever they are purchased from. The DSRs provide a partial exemption for goods which by their nature cannot be returned, which would apply here as they cannot be resold.

Ginger_Winner

jacques_chirac wrote: »

You are right wealdroam. Prescription medicines cannot be returned for refund wherever they are purchased from. The DSRs provide a partial exemption for goods which by their nature cannot be returned, which would apply here as they cannot be resold.

Is there perhaps some loophole as I haven't actually received them being as they are sat in a post office and will eventually be returned to sender unopened?

Andy_L

wealdroam wrote: »

I agree that DSRs do apply, but I am sure there is some legislation specifically stating that prescription medicines cannot be returned.

Can't find it at the moment though.

I suspect that they are claiming that prescription medicines are covered under 13.1.c

"the supply of goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalised or which by reason of their nature cannot be returned or are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly"

In that they've been labelled & possibly decanted out of bulk supply to the prescription.

vuvuzela

Andy_L wrote: »

I suspect that they are claiming that prescription medicines are covered under 13.1.c

"the supply of goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalised or which by reason of their nature cannot be returned or are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly"

In that they've been labelled & possibly decanted out of bulk supply to the prescription.

I suspect they are relying on the fact that NHS / Department of Health rules say that prescription medicines can not be returned for refund. 'Safety reasons'.

Example of people working to change this : http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/jul/03/prescription-medicine-unused

jwruk

From http://www.onlineshoppingrights.co.uk/buying-personal-items-online.html:

Consumers should bear in mind that medicines are exempt from the Distance Selling Regulations as there is no way of ensuring the integrity of the returned medicine. You should always check the terms and conditions of the online pharmacy that you have used in order to see whether they may give you a refund.

OP - did you see the bit about the restocking fee for failed deliveries?

bris

If the medication was by prescription then it can also be classed as a service, which once started can not be stopped.

Llyods pharmacy, who are a very reputable company, class prescribed medication as a service.

I also believe it would come under the nature of the product as not returnable.